ritterman building

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The new five
storey Ritterman Building offers innovative teaching space for the two faculties of Science and Technology and The Arts & Creative Industries and forms the first phase of a new London Estates Strategy for Middlesex University.

bpr worked with a variety of stakeholders to develop spaces for learning which respond to their individual requirements alongside the evolving pedagogical environment.

Ritterman acted as a BIM Level 2 prototype for Middlesex University. It was the first time the University attempted to implement BIM management processes to a capital project.

The project team were all framework partners, and the strength of these relationships fed through to the collaborative process with novation to the contractor during the detail design and construction stages, with close relations to the client-side retained team.

BIM level 2 strategies were applied to the design and construction phases. The BIM environment drove the development, management and change on the project. The supply chain delivered as-built information alongside a manageable open BIM to the client at handover.

Each specific discipline had its own functional space designed around its own requirements including environmental and servicing, acoustic, and precise building geometry to allow the installation of specialist equipment.

In addition to learning space and an A3 unit fitted out as a cafe; the Ritterman building contains Mac labs and other specialist technology suites, a dance studio and an office space for academic staff.

As framework consultants, RLB, Curtins and bpr worked together on the brief development stages through to tender. As part of the D&B process, bpr and Curtins were novated to the Interserve team to join Anderson Green for the post contract phase. bpr were also retained to work alongside RLB on behalf of the client in a due diligence and client advisory role, through to the post occupancy production of an end-user guide. This continuity of the collaborative team created strong bonds, efficient communication and a honed understanding of critical project goals and aspirations.

The new building is named in honour of the University's Chancellor, Dame Janet Ritterman and boasts an environmentally friendly, bio-diverse green living roof, photovoltaic panels to generate electricity and energy efficient lighting controls.

highly flexible spaces accommodate a wide range of programmes. The rationalised concrete frame optimises the opportunities for internal reconfigurations of space, while a zoned services strategy caters for a predefined range of possible uses.

Ritterman is arranged around a central spine corridor which provides internal accessible links across campus, from the upper level of the forum terrace down to the vine building and the astroturf beyond. Five storeys provide maximum potential for this pivotal site within the campus, while still responding to the scale of the adjacent buildings.